Meet Zhané Dimmitt

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zhané Dimmitt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Zhané, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience was developed from watching my mother navigate the ups and downs of life. My mother taught me at a very young age that you have to take ownership of your life, even when you are faced with adversity and it feels like the easier decision is to throw in the towel that is when breakthroughs happen. I have learned over time that challenges are not long-lasting, it is just the feeling that we experience that tricks us into believing that it is.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My story starts in East New York, as a young child with a lot of sass and ambition to match. Throughout my entire adolescence, I was told that I was destined to be a lawyer because there wasn’t a topic that I could not defend myself through. I remember when I started filling out my undergraduate college applications to study Criminal Justice I was overjoyed at the fact that I was finally going to fulfill my purpose. Except, I did not experience the feeling that I hoped law would give me. It was not until I experienced a spiritual encounter where I dreamt of a woman telling me to pursue a career in the arts to fulfill the purpose that I desperately searched for, and then it all started to make sense. I always was the person that people felt comfortable sharing their deepest darkest thoughts with, and I experienced countless amounts of interactions with strangers who appreciated the space my presence held. After many signs of confirmation, I decided to apply for graduate school and pursue my career in Mental Health & Wellness to become a Mental Health Professional.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Faith, persistence, and the fear of failure brought me where I am in my professional career. Above all else, nothing is possible without my faith in God. Looking back on my journey it was His hand that was on the inner workings of my success. Persistence taught me that if you keep knocking, eventually some door has to open. Lastly, the fear of what if and potentially missing my mark plagues my existence. I want to be able to experience all that was meant for me I’m this life, which keeps the fire burning within me. My advice to anyone embarking on the earlier stages of their journey is to stay on course no matter the detour and believe that everything works together for your good in the end.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

“The Purpose Driven Life” written by Rick Warren influenced how I understand life. The line that resonates deeply with me from his book is “It is not about you”. I think many of us miss our mark in this lifetime because we are waiting for this grand moment to validate our entire experience. That book challenged every self-motivated belief in me. It instead opened my mind to all the small intimate moments that we fulfill our purpose through our day-to-day interactions, and life experiences that in total meant to serve and build each other.